Murlo

On map RLW 12278, Leonardo indicates this ancient town south of Siena. In its vicinity he indicates "Munistero", probably to be identified as Vescovado di Murlo. Toward the end of the 7th century B.C., not far from the medieval centre, in the Poggio Civitate locality, there stood an imposing Etruscan palace, brought to light in the second half of the 20th century. The Archaeological Museum, set up in the bishop's palace (called "Palazzone") and then enlarged in the adjacent building, preserves the finds from the Etruscan settlement of Poggio Civitate (Poggio alle Cataste in modern cartography), discovered starting from an intuition of Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli (1920) and conducted thanks to American universities: in particular the roof of the "house of the prince" and the male acroter statue known as the "Cappellone", which became the symbol of Murlo.

Texts by

Alessandro Vezzosi, in collaboration with Agnese Sabato / English translation by Catherine Frost